Despite a thriving film career and her husband’s new show on HBO, True Blood, friends say the actress is a pro at balancing work and family.

"To see the joy in her eyes when they came on the set was fantastic," Rod Lurie, director of Kate’s upcoming film Nothing But the Truth, said at Toronto’s Supper Club on Sept. 8.

During the shoot, Kate, 35, visited Lily on weekends. "I put her to bed every night," Kate tells OK!. "And I have breakfast with her every morning."

The Pearl Harbor star may have learned her excellent multi-tasking skills. Kate studied at England’s prestigious Oxford University. The actress majored in Russian Studies, something she recently said she regrets.

"Now I only speak Russian with the woman who does my bikini wax," she told Contactmusic. "See what Hollywood does to you?"